Self-setting rodent trap



Oct. 28, 1952 G. B. WILKEN SELF-SETTING RODENT TRAP Filed Nov. 15, 1951 GEOEGE B. MIKE/V,

IN VEN TOR.

Arraewsr.

Patented Oct. 28, 1952 UNITED PATENT OFFICE Application November 15, 1951, Serial No. 256,458

} soia'ims. (o1. 4a 95 This invention relates to an improved 'rodent trap embodying an arrangement for automatically and easily setting-the trap without danger to the fingers or hands of the person setting-the trap and wherein a trip plate is notv employed for holding the trap in set positionJ-This application is a continuation-in-part of Patent No.

2,575,435, issued November '20, 1951.

Prior proposed rodent traps for moles, gophers, etc., include strong springs which actuate by various means opposed members or arms having pointed ends adapted to pierce and: impale a rodent. It is difficult'and'awkward to set such a trap because of the necessityofguidably moving (while working against a strong spring. resistance) a latching lever or trigger arm into positive engagement with a trip plate; Both hands and several fingers are'usually requiredito accomplish the trap setting eoperation. Since the: trap is relatively small and hard to hold while-working against the springlresistanceyone hand .usually. works in close proximity tothe piercing-1 armsoi the trap. Slipping-f either. hand may cause a partially set trap to suddenly close'with' resultant serious injury to one orIboth. of 131161 hands:

Prior proposed traps utilized positive direct engagement between a trigge'rarmeand a trip" plate to hold the trap in openo'rtrap set position. When a rodent touchedv oriabumped" the trip. plate, the engagement between the trigger arm and trip plate was broken' and" such disengagement resulted in springing thes trap to iclosed position. In addition, the' trigger arm and the trip plate were often biased by springs to hold .them in selected position whereby'engagement of the trigger arm and trip plate wasfa'ilitated; The rodent trap ofthis*invention 'differs from such prior proposed rodent trapsinthat positive engagement between the triggerarm and the trip plate is eliminated and springs are not required' for holding a trigger plate or a -tri'gg'er arm in'a desired position.-- a g;

Generally speaking; a rodent "trap embodying this invention includes a base and an overlying actuating member usually iorm'ed rrom ne piece of wire-as in the Macabee typeof trap.- The actuating member carries a cross arm adjacent to one end and the base pivotally supports ala'tching means below the cross arm. The latchingmeans includes a selectively configured upw'ardly ex;'-" tending latching portion which automatically and.

positively cooperates with the brass arm owthe actuating member for holding the trap inopen or trap set position; Areleasefporti'on nane rorm of a longitu'dinally extendingai'm is' assoiated with said latching portion and extends forwardly for actuation bya rearwardly extending portion of a trip means ofbell crank form so that when a rodent bumps the trip means the latching portion is released from engagement with the cross arm. A primary object 'oithis invention isto. design and-provide av simple; and efficient arrangement forautomatically setting a rodent trap by the operation of only a single. hand and without placement of the handnear the piercing arms.

Another objectof this invention is .toy'design and provide for a rodent trap a latching or trigger lever means which iscooperatively associated with a spring-biased'trap. actuating member to hold a trap actuating member in trap set position. Another object of-this invention: is to design and provide an improved self-setting gopher trap wherein a latching portion pivotally carried by a base is automaticallymovable into positive holding engagement with across arm on an actuating member when the actuating member is moved downwardly for holding the, trap in open position.

Still another object of-thisinvention is to design and provide a self-setting gopher trap wherein the latching means is releasable by trip means, having lever means associated therewith toengage said latching means. V I

Still another object of v.this'invention is to design and provide an improved self-setting gopher trap wherein latching means includes arelease portion normally not cooperatively engaged with a trip means when intrap set position and movable by the trip means: to release an associated latching portion from engagement with atrap actuating member for closing the trap.

Other objects and advantages. of this invention will be readily apparent from the following description of the drawings.

Inthe drawings: v Fig. -1 is a perspective view oi arodent trap embodying this invention. I 1r. 4

Fig. 2 is a side View of the trap shownin Fig. 1, the trap being shown in 'open or trap set positionc Fig. -3-is a side view showingthe trap in closed position, and with phantom lines indicating the trip means and latching meansin release posi-i-u' tion.- 1-1 Fig. 4 is a fragmentary view of thecoop'erable latching portion andcrossarni'just priort'o final setting position of the-trap. r

- Referring particularly -tojFig 1g,

trap generally indicated-at -'lil includes .aitrapof well-known iorm and manuiacture gnerally identified as a Mac abeetyjp e *o gopherkt ap. azir-;- The rodent trap i i0 includes'qat base frame I l the-ro ent.- I

comprising a generally U-shaped wire frame having spaced parallel legs I2 and I3. At one end of the frame I I, the ends of legs I2 and I3 may be suitably wound inwardly to provide transversely extending, and axially aligned helical springs I4. The springs I4 terminate centrally of the base in wire elements I5 and I6 which overlie the base frame I and which are normally angularly disposed with respect to said base. The base, spring, and elements I and IB'may be of one piece of suitable wire.

The elements I5 and I6 flare outwardly adjacent springs I4, are bent slightly inwardly intermediate the ends of the trap, and terminate gen--v erally slightly beyond the end of base frame II. Elements I5 and I6 are integrally joined to provide a thumb piece or rest, I1 extending beyond the base, said thumb rest being formed by turning the wire about a vertical axis and havingsuflicient diameter for providing an adequate supporting surface for a thumb placed thereon when setting the trap. Elements I5, and I5 and thumb piece or rest I1 therebyform a trap setting and actuating member generally indicated at I8.

Upwardly directed and inwardly bent opposed piercing arms I9 may be pivotally mounted on legs I2 and I3, said arms having their upper ends 20 sharply bent outwardly so as, to provide opposed piercing points when the arms are in their trap setting position; The arms I9 are guided to and from their open and closed posi-v tions by means of U-shaped guides 2| suitably secured on elements I5 and I6 above the pivotal mountingsof arms I9. As the overlying actuating member I8 is urged downwardly by a thumb placed upon thumb rest I1, piercing arms I9 will be spread apart into open position by the guides 2|. When the trap is sprung, elements I5 and I6 are moved upwardly by the action of springs I4, the guides causing the arms I9 to move to closed position.

- This invention lies in an automatic self-setting arrangement for moving and holding piercing arms into open trap set position and in a novel release arrangement for closing the trap. The latching means generally indicated at 22 may comprise a transverse member 23 extending between legs I2 and I3 of the base at the endopposite to springs I4. Pivotally mounted upon the transverse member 23 intermediate its ends is a latching and release lever means generally indicated at 24. Means for positioning lever means 24 intermediate legs I2 and I3 may be provided by a fiat metal strip 25 extending between legs I2 and I3 and provided with spaced upwardly stamped or punched-out lugs 26, said lugs 26 acting as stop means to limit movement of the lever 24 alongthe transverse member 23.

.with the forward end of the horizontal section 28' along a suitable radius. The latching portion 21 also includesa coiled section for pivoting the lever 24* on member 23, said, coiled section terminating in. a forwardly, and upwardlyeuryed segment 29a spaced below and adjacent to the horizontal section.

Above the latching portion 21 a cross arm 30 extends between the elements I5 and I6 of the actuating member I8, said cross arm 30 being positioned between the thumb rest I1 and the piercing arms I9 and approximately above and slightly forwardly of the transverse member 23 en h a tuat n m mber n ap s position as in Fig; 3;,

Upon downward movement of the actuating member I8 by application of pressure against thumb rest, the cross arm 30 contacts the forward edge, of; the inclined rearwardly directed section 29 whereby the latching portion is piv" oted in a' clockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 1, so that the cross arm 30 may pass in front of the horizontal section 28. When the cross arm is disposed below section 28, the latching portion 21 is urged in counterclockwise direction by positive contact with the upperv edge of segment 29a (Fig. 4)., Asthe, member I8 isv further depressed, the contact ofcross arm 30. withsegment 29:: causes horizontal section 28 to move partially across cross arm 30 into overlying relationship therewith. When pressure is released from thumb rest I1, cross arm 30 moves slightly up-' ward into the positive, holding engagement with section 28.. counterclockwise rotation. of the latching portion is limited by the trip means as described hereafter.

The release means for thev trap. includes a forwardly and longitudinally extending release arm- 3| which forms the release portion of the latching means; The release arm 3| is preferablyformed integral with latchingportion 21 and isadjustably angularlyrelated to the latch-. ing portion 21. The release arm 3| may be slightly convexly curved, as viewed from the top. to smoothly and integrally merge with latching segment 29a. Thearmt'lat itsv free end normally-liesin the planar zone. of the base II. Between'springs I4 and piercing arms I9: may be pivotally mounted, as at 23, a trip means 33. The trip means 33 may include a wire frame having an upstanding generally inverted U -shaped portion 34 adapted to be contacted by arodent for releasingthe trap as described hereafter. Thetrip portion 34'may be integral with a rearwardly extending U-shaped release portion 35.,said portion; 35:..lying normally in, the plane of base II and approximately. atl'rightangles to the: planeof the upstanding trip portion 34 to form substantially a bell crank arrangement. The release portion; 35- is: joined with the. trip portionili by one. or more turns 36, of' the wire to providejournals into-which transversely inwardly projecting; pins" ,31- extend for formingev p vo al: m unt n s t- Th pins 3 maytab y onne ted to e bas members I2 and" 3. hr turni g e dr tip sf: a ssv a 39 about said elements as shown.: The cross bar 3 imi s downward otatio of l a po tion f m intaining p r o 5, a pro ima ely n e pl Qf the-bas I 1-.-

Th wire rameoi he tr pns; aybemade f ne pie l f f Will tlld: when; formed i 1. be l c ank arran emen shown). ma be a i v t al mount ypr n inwardly a rnails -35 and hnre asi g the p e s r when; p ns 1 are al ned. with. the ournals; the resi i n v of. thev wi e oldins. hefram on h jo rna s H eend. 3lof t -n lease arms 3i ormallr rerlies; re ea e: n n-1.1.. a5,- and rests; neon 5. transverse element 35a thereof. Since the downward rotation of release portion 35 is limitedby cross bar 39, counterclockwise rotation of the latching portion, when the trap is being set is likewise limited by contact of end 38 of arm 31 with the element 35a of the release portion 35.

When a gopher bumps trip portion 34, therelease portion 35 is raised by pivotal movement of the trip frame about pins 31 and lifts the free end 38 of release arm 31 upwardly to positively rotate in a clockwise direction (Fig. 1) the latching portion 21. Upon such rotation, the horizontal secti-on28 is disengaged with the cross arm 30 to release the actuating member l8 and to spring the trap into closed position. Rearward rotation of the trip means may be limited by the narrowing of the spacing between .elements I5 and I6 so that the overlying relationship of end 38 of'arm 3| with element 35a will be maintained.

The sensitiveness of the trap to aforceapplied against the trip means may be adjusted by slightly varying the relationship of the-horizontal section 28 with the cross arm 30 as by either upwardly or downwardly inclining section 28. This may be readily accomplished by changing the angular relationship of the latching portion 21 with the release armv 3|. It will be readily apparent that bending of free end 38 of arm 3| will modify the position which section 28 assumes when end 38 rests upon the release portion 35. Thus the number of degrees of rotation of the latching portion 21 about member 23 between release position and latched position may be easily varied. The self-setting trap of this inventionmay be easily set by one hand. Since a positive latching arrangement is provided between latching portion 21 and cross arm 33, the trap may be set While holding in substantially any position. When in normal horizontal position gravity may aidin the counterclockwise rotation of the latching lever because of the longitudinally extending release arm 3|. Likewise initial impetus to the counterclockwise rotation may be secured by contact of piercing arms IS with release arm 31. It should be noted however that the latching operation of the present invention does not depend upon gravity or contact of the arm 30 with the piercing arms.

The positive and automatic setting of such a rodent trap by the use of only one hand is very advantageous and reduces to a minimum the hazards and dangers involved in setting such trap because the fingers hold the trap on the side opposite that side on which the piercing arms are operable. The thumb rest is also spaced from the piercing arms and is of sufficient area so that slipping of a thumb between the piercing arms is extremely unlikely. It is obvious that there is no necessity for using a second hand while setting the trap either to study the trap or to guide the latching means into trap set position. I

It will also be noted that the latching means is positively guided into holding position without the use of springs and that the trap is set Without the use of positive holding engagement with a trip plate. In other words, the setting opera.- tion of this improved rodent trap does not require cooperation of a trip plate. The trap may be quickly and easily set by merely moving the actuating arm downwardly so that horizontal section 28 of the latching portion may overlie and engage cross arm 30 to securely hold the actuating member in trap set position.

Release of this improved rodent trap does not 6. require positive disengagement of a release arm with a trip plate. It is so arranged that the trip means-merely lifts the release arm so as torotate through a few degrees the latching portion 21.

The positive latching engagement of the horizontal section 28 with the cross arm 30 is so designed and arranged that accidental release of theactuating member is substantially eliminated. A predetermined selected measurable safety factor. against accidental release may bepr-ovided by slightly changing the disposition of the horizontal section and by changing the angular relation between the release arm and latching portion so that a preselected amount of rotation of the trip means must occur before the actuating member is released. 7

All changes and modifications made in the trap described above and coming within the scope of the appended claims are embraced thereby.

Iclaim: v

1. In a self-setting rodent trap including a longitudinally extending base and an overlying trap actuating member having one end spring mounted to said base and piercing arms pivotally connected to the base and guidably connected to the actuating member for movement of said arms in a plane transverse to the actuating member, the provision of: a thumb rest provided at the free end of the actuating member; a cross arm carried by the actuating member between the thumb rest and the piercing arms; trip means pivotally mounted on the base between the spring endand the pierclngarms, said trip means including a rearwardly extending portion lying normally in the planar zone of said base; a latching means pivotally mounted on the base belowsaid cross arm for movement in a longitudinal vertical plane, said latching means including an upwardly extending sigmoid-a1 latching portion including a forwardly directed virtually horizontal section and an upwardly and rearwardly directed section merging with the forward end of said horizontal section, whereby the cross arm contacts the rearwardly directed section for rearwardly turning the latching portion so as to engage the cross arm beneath said horizontal section of the latching portion; a release portion connected to said latching portion and extending forwardly with its free end overlyin the rearwardly extending portion of said release means, said release portion normally urging the horizontal section of the latching portion into holding position by gravity, said rearwardly extending portion of the trip means being capable of lifting said release portion for turning said latching portion whereby the horizontal section of the latching means is'disengaged from said cross arm for closing the trap.

2. In a self-setting rodent trap including a longitudinally extending base and an overlying trap actuating member having one end spring mounted to said base and piercing arms pivotally connected to the base and guidably connected to the actuating member for movement of said arms in a plane transverse to the actuating member, the provision of a cross arm carried by the actuating member in spaced relation to the piercing arms; trip means pivotally mounted on the bas'e'between the spring end and the piercing ,arms, said trip means including a rearwardly extending portion lying normally in the planar zone of said base; a latching means pivotally mounted on the base below said cross arm for movement in a longitudinal vertical plane, said latching 7 meanswincluding an upwardly extending latching portion including a forwardly directed virtually horizontal section and an upwardly and rearwardly directed section mergin with the forward end of said horizontal section, whereby the cross arm may contact the rearwardly directed section for rearwardly turning the latching portion so as to cooperably engage the cross arm beneath said horizontal section of the latching portion; a release arm connected to said latchin portion and extending forwardly with its free end overlying the rearwardly extending portion of said release means, said release arm normally urging the horizontal section of the latching portioniinto holding position by gravity, said rearwardly extending portion of the trip means being capable of lifting said release arm for moving said latching portion whereby the horizontal section of the latching means is disengaged from said cross arm for closin the trap.

3. In a self-setting rodent trap including a longitudinally extending base and an overlying trap actuating memberhaving one and spring mounted to said base and piercing arms pivotally connected to the base and guidably connected to the actuating member for movement of said arms in a plane transverse to the actuating member, the provision of: a cross arm carried by the actuating member in spaced relation to the piercing arms; trip means pivotally mounted on the base between the spring end and the piercing arms, said trip means including a rearwardly extending portion'lyingnormally in the planar zone of said base; a latching means pivotally mounted on the base below said cross arm for movement in a longitudinal vertical plane, said latching means including an upwardly extending latching portion including a forwardly directed virtually horizontal section and an upwardly and rearwardly directed section merging with the forward end of said horizontal section, whereby the cross arm contacts the rearwardly directed section for rear'wardly rotating the latching portion to cooperably engage the horizontal section and the cross arm; a release arm connected to said latching portion and extendin forwardly with its free end overlying the rearwardly extending portion of said release means, said release arm being movable to urge the horizontal section of the latching portion into holding position, said rearwardly extending portion of the trip means being capable of lifting said release arm for rotating said latching portion whereb the horizontal section of the latching means is disengaged from said cross arm for closing the trap.

4. A rodent trap as claimed in claim 3 wherein the release arm is upwardly arched and is adapted to be contacted by the piercing arms when the actuating member is depressed to cause counterrotation of the latching means for movin the horizontal section into overlying holding relation to the cross arm.

"5. In a self-setting rodent trap including a base, an overlying longitudinal trap setting and trap actuating member having one end spring mounted to said base and piercing arms pivotally connected to the base and slidably connected to the actuating member for movement of said arms in a plane transverse to the actuating member, the provision of: a cross arm carried by the actuating member adjacent to the piercing arms; latching lever means pivotally mounted on the base below said cross arm for movement in a longitudinal vertical plane, said latching lever means including an upwardly extending sigmoidal latchin portion and a longitudinally extending release portion, said latching portion having a section cooperable with the cross arm for rearwardly rotating said latching portion and a holding section adapted to cooperably engage said cross arm upon sequential forward rotation of said latching portion; trip means pivotally mounted on said base and including a rearwardly extending means normally underlying the end of said release portion whereby forward rotation of said trip means will lift said release portion to disengage, said cross arm from said holding section by rearward rotation of said latching portion.

6. A trap as claimed in claim 5 wherein means are provided for positioning said lever means between the sides of the base.

7. In a self-setting rodent trap including a base and an overlying trap setting and trap actuating member spring mounted thereon at one end, the combination of: a latching and releasing lever means pivotally mounted on said base adjacent one end thereof, said lever means including an upwardly directed latching portion and a longitudinally extending release arm in angular relation to said latching portion, a cross arm on said actuating member cooperable with said latching portion to automatically move said latchin portion into holding relationship therewith upon depressing the actuating member; trip means pivotally mounted on said base in spaced relation to said latching means, said trip means including an upstanding trip portion and a rearwardly extending trip release portion angularly disposed with relation to said trip portion; said latching lever release arm having an end overlying said trip release portion whereby said release arm may be lifted for releasing said latching portion.

8. A rodent trap as claimed in claim '7 wherein the latching portion is provided with a virtually S configuration,

9. In a self-setting rodent trap includin a base, an overlying trap actuating means spring mounted at one end of said base, piercing arms carried by said base and movable into trap set and trap open position by said actuating means, the combination of: a lever means pivotally mounted on said base and including a sigmoidal latching portion normally disposed in one position; means on said actuating means cooperable with said latching portion upon depressin the actuating means to cause said latching portion to move to one side of said cooperable means; said lever means including a member angularly related to and connected to said latching portion to return said latching portion to normal position and into holding engagement with said cooperable means; a trip means pivotally mounted on said base in spaced relation to said lever means, said trip means having angularly related portions one of which normally underlies said member and is adapted to raise said member for moving the latching portion out of holding ongagement With said cooperable means.

GEORGE B. WILKEN.

No references cited. 

